Drawer divider support



July 14, 1964 R. H. REISS, SR., ETAL 0,79

mum DIVIDER SUPPORT Filed NOV. 9, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvmronp ATTORNEYS y 4, 1964 R. H. REISS, sR., EI'AL 3,140,791

DRAWER DIVIDER SUPPORT Filed Nov. 9, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvmoas F0 yMMo/r'. Fans, 50 R404 R 71 f/nmv Roasnrd H fill BY 2 Q g ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,140,791 DRAWER DIVIDER SUPPORT Raymond H. Reiss, Sr., Deai, Paul R. T. Hahn, Westfield,

and Robert J. Randall, Morristown, NJL, assignors to Ronthor Reiss Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 236,585 2 Claims. (Cl. 217-7) This invention relates to supports and more particularly to a drawer divider support, and a method for positioning a plurality of drawer divider supports in a drawer.

Drawer dividers are generally relatively thin, long panels that are positioned on edge within a drawer to divide the drawer into a plurality of compartments and thereby segregate diverse articles such as handkerchiefs from hose in a dresser drawer, knives from forks and spoons in a cutlery tray, or nuts from bolts in a sales counter, and the like. A divider usually extends between two parallel walls of a drawer (side walls, or drawer front and drawer back), and abuts the drawer bottom. In such applications as cutlery trays and sales counters, drawer dividers are often mounted so as to define compartments extending transversely in the drawer and other compartments extending longitudinally in the drawer.

According to one method in common practice, wooden drawer dividers are affixed to wooden drawers by driving small nails diagonally through each drawer divider and into the drawer wall or, alternatively through the drawer wall from the outside thereof and into the divider. This mode of attachment has not been found satisfactory in that the diagonally driven nails often split the edges of the divider, the nails have to be individually placed and manually driven resulting in the consumption of a large number of expensive man-hours when this method is a tempted on a mass production line. Also, the nature of this type of installation causes the finished product to be inflexible in that the dividers cannot easily be removed and repositioned.

Another method comprises routing or machining vertical slots in the opposed drawer walls and positioning each divider so as to extend between two opposed slots. This mode of assemblage also has shortcomings in that the slots in the drawer walls weaken the Walls and limit the permissible thinness of the walls. Additionally, each slot must be wide enough to accommodate oversize, swollen or warped dividers, as well as average, undersize, and unwarped dividers. This results in dividers that fit loosely and rattle unappealingly when the associated drawer is actuated. This method of supporting the dividers is also inflexible in that the slots are permanently located.

A third type of support comprises wooden inserts having a vertical channel formed therein. These inserts are positioned on opposite sides of the drawer interior and nailed in place. Divider supports of this variety are deficient in that they can adapt to dividers of only one width. The dividers positioned therein are warpable and susceptible to splitting if an assembler attempts to force a warped divider therein. The nails used must each be handled separately and may protrude into the channels, obstructing insertion of the divider into the drawer.

Divider supports also in use comprise a metallic channel member secured to opposite sides of a drawer. Drawer dividers are then advanced into the channels so that one channel supports each end of the divider. Characteristically, the metallic supports often mar the dividers as the dividers are withdrawn and reassembled during the cleaning of the drawer. Also, fine articles such as silverware or nylon hose, placed in a drawer having this type of divider support, are most apt to be scratched or snagged on the support unless utmost care is observed.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a drawer divider support molded from resilient plastic material and having mounting means integral therewith.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a drawer divider support that is adapted to recive drawer dividers of diverse thicknesses.

It is another object of this invention to provide a drawer divider support that is easily installed in a drawer, requiring no special cutting, machining or other expensive operations.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a drawer divider support that resiliently and snugly grips any divider of a range of thicknesses, and allows the divider to be quietly and easily withdrawn therefrom without damage.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a drawer divider support that can easily be relocated in the drawer.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for quickly and accurately positioning a plurality of drawer dividers at opposite sides of drawer interiors so as to accurately locate the positions of drawer dividers therein.

These and further objects of the invention are more fully set forth in the following detailed description having reference to the attached drawings wherein illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the invention partially broken away to expose the securement of the fastening means.

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the installation of the invention on a drawer wall.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a drawer divider secured in a drawer by two supports of the invention.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a drawer showing an arrangement of drawer dividers secured therein and positioned by supports of the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective View of a drawer showing another arrangement of drawer dividers secured therein and positioned by supports of the invention; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a drawer showing divider supports being installed therein according to the method of the invention.

With specific reference to the drawings, a drawer divider support 10 embodying the invention is shown in FIGURES 18. The support 10 comprises an elongated, flat strip 12 molded from flexible thermoplastic material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like. Two transversely spaced upstanding flanges 14 are integrally and coincidentally molded on one surface 16 of the flat strip 12 adjacent the side edges thereof. The flanges 14 are oriented on the strip 12 in a manner such that they extend toward one another and are closer to each other at their outer extremities than they are at their bases. The flanges 14 thus define with the strip 12 a channel 18 which extends the length of the support 10. Adjacent each end of the strip 12, each flange gradually reduces in height until, at the ends of the strip 12, the flanges 14 have no height and are coincident with the strip surface. The reduced height portions 20 of the flanges 14- serve as guides to the longitudinal introduction of a drawer divider into the channel 18.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, securing means for the support 10 comprising a plurality of nails 22, are molded in the strip 12 and project from the opposite side of the channel 18.

The support comprising the invention is used in pairs to secure a drawer divider in place. Referring to FIGURE 5, the support is installed in a drawer by positioning it so that the channel 18 faces inwardly of the drawer and the nails 22 are positioned against the drawer side 24. A thin block 26 of rigid material such as wood or metal is then inserted in the channel and tapped with an instrument such as a hammer 28 until the nails 22 are driven into the drawer side 24. The thin block 26 is then withdrawn from the channel. In like manner a second support 10 is secured in a corresponding position on the opposite side of the drawer. Although a vertical mounting of the supports has been illustrated, the angle between the drawer divider and the drawer bottom can be varied from the conventional perpendicular arrangement to any desired angle by mounting the supports 10 at an angle on the drawer sides.

A drawer divider 30 having a length slightly less than the distance between the drawer walls on which supports of the invention have been mounted, is inserted in the drawer as shown in FIGURE 5. The divider 30 is first positioned above the drawer and the ends of the divider inserted into the upper wide portions of the channels in the supports 10. A slight downward pressure on the divider 30 advances the divider in the channels causing the resilient flanges 10 to separate from one another and slidably engage the divider. The divider is moved easily and noiselessly in the supports 10 because of the resiliency and self-lubricating qualities of the thermoplastic material. The divider can be removed by a gentle upward pull whereupon the resilient supports resume the rest position shown in FIGURES 1-3. The divider 30 is firmly secured against wobbling in that the two flanges 14 on each support 10 are biased away from one another by the divider being between them. Dividers of a range of thicknesses can be used and will bias'the flanges 14 on the support a greater or lesser distance apart depending on the thickness of the particular divider.

As illustrated in FIGURE 6, a support of the invention man also be secured on the drawer bottom 32 in a position such that the bottom mounted support will engage the bot-tom of a divider mounted in the drawer. This supplemental support is most helpful in association with a long divider or a divider that will be subject to greater than average normal forces (as in a drawer filled with heavy objects in the compartment adjacent one side of the divider and having light objects in the compartment on the other side of the divider).

Because the supporting securing means comprises relatively short nails 22, it is a simple matter for a user of the drawer to remove the supports, and replace them in another position on the drawer walls to vary the relative size of the compartments defined by the divider. The supports of the invention can be positioned on the sides of a drawer to secure transversely extending dividers as shown in FIGURE 6, or be positioned on drawer front and back members, or on other dividers to obtain diverse compartment orientations such as the one illustrated in FIGURE 7.

When the installation of a number of identical drawer dividers in identical drawers is contemplated, as by a furniture manufacturer, the supports for the dividers can be accurately and quickly installed using the method illustrated in FIGURE 8. A template 34 comprising a sheet of wood, metal, plastic, or the like is cut so as to have the same length as the interior walls of the drawer on which drawer divider supports are to be installed. Openings 36 are formed through the template each having a length and width that is slightly larger than the length and width of a support 19. Openings 36 are positioned on the template as to correspond with the intended support locations on the drawer wall. The template 34 is positioned against an interior Wall .38 of a drawer. Supports 10 are placed in the openings and installed as shown in FIGURE 4. The template 34 is then slid in the drawer until it is adjacent the opposite interior wall 40 of the drawer. Supports ltl are then plaecd in the openings and installed as shown in FIGURE 4. Using this method, the supports are easily and accurately positioned with respect to each other on the opposite walls of a drawer without the need for measuring for each installation. Templates having different dimensions and opening configurations can be prepared in like manner for installing drawer dividers in other drawers.

The drawer divider supports 10 of the invention are preferably injection molded and, according to the inven tion, have nails coincidentally molded therein which project from the supports to provide a mounting means. It is contemplated that the length of the supports 19 can be greater or less than that shown so as to mount taller or shorter drawer dividers in drawers.

Although the support of the invention has been specifically described as a drawer divider support, it should be clear that it has equal application as a support for showcase or rack dividers and may be used to support shelving in such applications as bathroom medicine closets. It should also be realized that, although a nail type fastening means has been shown, in certain applications such as mounting the supports to metal drawers, it is preferable to mold other fasteners in the supports.

The embodiments of the invention set forth herein illustrate the principles of the invention. It is obvious that the embodiments shown can be modified without departing from these principles and, therefore, the invention should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A drawer divider support comprising: a relatively thin elongated strip; two transversely spaced flanges positioned on the strip adjacent each longitudinal edge of one side thereof, each flange lying in a single plane and projecting upwardly and transversely inwardly from the strip so as to define a channel which is wider at its base than at the outer extremities of the flanges and which extends substantially the length of the strip, the distance between the outer extremities of the flanges being less than the width of the drawer divider to be introduced into the channel whereby drawer dividers of different widths can be restrained against movement by said extremities, each flange having a tapered portion immediately adjacent at least one end of the strip, said tapered portion extending from the strip upwardly and longitudinally inwardly to provide a guide means for the longitudinal introduction of an end drawer divider into the channel, said flanges and strip being of resilient thermoplastic material and of integral construction; and mounting means having a portion molded into the strip and a rigid, sharp-pointed portion projecting from the opposite side of the strip from said flanges.

2. In the combination of a drawer with a drawer divider support on a vertical wall of the drawer, the improvement in the construction of said divider support which comprises: an integral generally channel-shaped member constructed of resilient thermoplastic and having a flat strip portion and a pair of flanges, said strip portion being secured in a vertical position to said vertical drawer wall by means of mounting means, said mounting means having a portion molded into the strip and a rigid sharp-pointed portion projecting from the strip into the vertical wall of the drawer, each of said flanges projecting inwardly from the strip portion and extending in a single plane substantially the length of the strip portion, the distance between between the inner extremities being less than the width of a drawer divider to be introduced between the flanges whereby drawer dividers of different widths can be restrained against movement by said extremities, each of said flanges having a tapered portion immediately adjacent the upper end of said strip, said tapered portion ex- 5 tending longitudinally inwardly of the strip to provide a guide means for the longitudinal introduction of a drawer divider between the flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 477,829 Wells June 28, 1892 1,201,295 Hendee Oct. 17, 1916 1,821,083 Visel Sept. 1, 1931 2,101,378 Wiskolf Dec. 7, 1937 6 Korenchan Nov. 19, 1940 Feldman Apr. 28, 1953 Mcunt Aug. 31, 1954 Moncier Nov. 22, 1955 Tedaldi Apr. 24, 1956 Ryan Oct. 2, 1956 Norman et a1 June 6, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Nov. 18, 1913 Switzerland Dec. 1, 1953 

1. A DRAWER DIVIDER SUPPORT COMPRISING: A RELATIVELY THIN ELONGATED STRIP; TWO TRANSVERSELY SPACED FLANGES POSITIONED ON THE STRIP ADJACENT EACH LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF ONE SIDE THEREOF, EACH FLANGE LYING IN A SINGLE PLANE AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY AND TRANSVERSELY INWARDLY FROM THE STRIP SO AS TO DEFINE A CHANNEL WHICH IS WIDER AT ITS BASE THAN AT THE OUTER EXTREMITES OF THE FLANGES AND WHICH EXTENDS SUBSTANTIALLY THE LENGTH OF THE STRIP, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE OUTER EXTREMITIES OF THE FLANGES BEING LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE DRAWER DIVIDER TO BE INTRODUCED INTO THE CHANNEL WHEREBY DRAWER DIVIDERS OF DIFFERENT WIDTHS CAN BE RESTRAINED AGAINST MOVEMENT BY SAID EXTREMITIES, EACH FLANGE HAVING A TAPERED PORTION IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT AT LEAST 